--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Smell is the sense of memory and desire." description: "\"Smell is the sense of memory and desire.\" — Jean-Jacques Rousseau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/193/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_desire_smell-is-the-sense-of-memory-and-desire_1609699.png" --- # Smell is the sense of memory and desire. ![“Smell is the sense of memory and desire.” quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/193/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_desire_smell-is-the-sense-of-memory-and-desire_1609699.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/193/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_desire_smell-is-the-sense-of-memory-and-desire_1609699.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/193/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_desire_smell-is-the-sense-of-memory-and-desire_1609699.png) > “Smell is the sense of memory and desire.” [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Claims that smell triggers memories and desires, linking scent to emotion. **In simple terms:** Smell evokes memory and desire. Key Takeaway Use scent to influence mood. Themes sensory memory desire emotion Mood nostalgic sensory Type psychological inspirational When to use this quote - marketing - therapy - personal reflection Key Concepts olfactory triggers psychology Questions to Reflect On - Which smells remind you of past experiences? - How can scent improve wellbeing? A Different Perspective Scent influence varies individually. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) ## Related quotes > [Smell was our first sense. It is even possible that being able to smell was the stimulus that took a primitive fish and turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyall-watson/smell-was-our-first-sense-it-is-even-possible-that-being-able-to/) [Lyall Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyall-watson/) > [“Genuine listening means suspending memory, desire, and judgment — and, for a moment at least, existing for the other person. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-p-nichols/genuine-listening-means-suspending-memory-desire-and-judgment-and-for/) Michael P Nichols > [How that name comes up. Mixing memory and desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/how-that-name-comes-up-mixing-memory-and-desire/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [“have spent much time there, in this grand empty space between memory and desire, creating this cracked empire of sentences in which I now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/have-spent-much-time-there-in-this-grand-empty-space-between-memory/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [Is it fair to have given us the memory of what was and the desire of what could be when we must suffer what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-jordan/is-it-fair-to-have-given-us-the-memory-of-what-was-and-the-desire-of/) [Neil Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-jordan/) > [When you're dealing with the world of dreams, the psyche, and potential of a human mind, there has to be emotional stakes. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/when-you-re-dealing-with-the-world-of-dreams-the-psyche-and-potential/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [Karma, memory, and desire are just the software of the soul. It's conditioning that the soul undergoes in order to create experience. And it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/karma-memory-and-desire-are-just-the-software-of-the-soul-it-s/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“Ah, Sharon Lipschutz," said the young man. "How that name comes up. Mixing memory and desire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/ah-sharon-lipschutz-said-the-young-man-how-that-name-comes-up-mixing/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [I took Meisner for a long time. I use a lot of sense memory and, well, I wouldn't say Method, but I can't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-daddario/i-took-meisner-for-a-long-time-i-use-a-lot-of-sense-memory-and-well-i/) [Alexandra Daddario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-daddario/) > [I started to realize, a lot of times if you go into your memory, your sense memory, you know more than you think you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/i-started-to-realize-a-lot-of-times-if-you-go-into-your-memory-your/) [Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/) > [I'm more verbal and not as private as I was as a kid. I still do a form of sense memory. It honestly depends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alia-shawkat/i-m-more-verbal-and-not-as-private-as-i-was-as-a-kid-i-still-do-a/) [Alia Shawkat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alia-shawkat/) > [When the print revolution occurred 400 years ago, human beings lost a certain mental capacity, including a sense of memory. In Africa today, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/when-the-print-revolution-occurred-400-years-ago-human-beings-lost-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [You don't really have to do the things that your character is doing. But us actors, we use something called sense memory. I've certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/you-don-t-really-have-to-do-the-things-that-your-character-is-doing/) [Jeff Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bridges/) > [I use a lot of sense memory and, well, I can't really avoid getting into character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-daddario/i-use-a-lot-of-sense-memory-and-well-i-can-t-really-avoid-getting/) [Alexandra Daddario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-daddario/) > [I'm a big believer in sort of sense memory, like using something that you've experienced in order to put yourself in the position that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-daddario/i-m-a-big-believer-in-sort-of-sense-memory-like-using-something-that/) [Alexandra Daddario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-daddario/) ## More by Jean-Jacques Rousseau > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Take the course opposite to custom and you will almost always do well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/take-the-course-opposite-to-custom-and-you-will-almost-always-do-well/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given to us by education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/everything-we-do-not-have-at-our-birth-and-which-we-need-when-we-are/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-first-person-who-having-enclosed-a-plot-of-land-took-it-into-his/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [...in respect of riches, no citizen shall ever be wealthy enough to buy another, and none poor enough to be forced to sell himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/in-respect-of-riches-no-citizen-shall-ever-be-wealthy-enough-to-buy/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Take from the philosopher the pleasure of being heard and his desire for knowledge ceases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/take-from-the-philosopher-the-pleasure-of-being-heard-and-his-desire/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Men, in general, are not this or that, they are what they are made to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/men-in-general-are-not-this-or-that-they-are-what-they-are-made-to-be/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I would rather be a man of paradoxes than a man of prejudices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/i-would-rather-be-a-man-of-paradoxes-than-a-man-of-prejudices/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“O Fabricius! What would your great soul have thought, if to your own misfortune you had been called back to life and had seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/o-fabricius-what-would-your-great-soul-have-thought-if-to-your-own/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“The sword wears out its sheath, as it is sometimes said. That is my story. My passions have made me live, and my passions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-sword-wears-out-its-sheath-as-it-is-sometimes-said-that-is-my/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Whence do I get my rules of conduct? I find them in my heart. Whatever I feel to be good is good. Whatever I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/whence-do-i-get-my-rules-of-conduct-i-find-them-in-my-heart-whatever/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“If one divided all of human science into two parts - the one common to all men, the other particular to the learned -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/if-one-divided-all-of-human-science-into-two-parts-the-one-common-to/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The social compact sets up among the citizens as equality of such kind, that they all bind themselves to observe the same conditions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-social-compact-sets-up-among-the-citizens-as-equality-of-such/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I do not know is a phrase which becomes us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/i-do-not-know-is-a-phrase-which-becomes-us/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“How could I become wicked, when I had nothing but examples of gentleness before my eyes, and none around me but the best people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/how-could-i-become-wicked-when-i-had-nothing-but-examples-of/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) [Explore all 518 Jean-Jacques Rousseau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Smell is the sense of memory and desire.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Jacques Rousseau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/smell-is-the-sense-of-memory-and-desire/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/smell-is-the-sense-of-memory-and-desire/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/193/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_desire_smell-is-the-sense-of-memory-and-desire_1609699.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/193/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_desire_smell-is-the-sense-of-memory-and-desire_1609699.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/193/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_desire_smell-is-the-sense-of-memory-and-desire_1609699.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Smell is the sense of memory and desire.” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jean-Jacques Rousseau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Smell is the sense of memory...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/smell-is-the-sense-of-memory-and-desire/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/smell-is-the-sense-of-memory-and-desire/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```